Restored
by AnkhPosts
Summary: Things had certainly changed. They were older, wiser, more powerful and more jaded. But some things hadn't changed too much. They were finally Team Seven again. One-shot Team Seven fic. Post Fourth Shinobi War. R&R!


**Restored**

Things had changed, that was certain.

In a way, things had stayed eerily similar as well.

Three out of four were taller. Three out of four had grown, in every sense of the word. All four were more powerful than they'd once been, stronger, more self assured and resilient. All four now understood the true depths of grief and loss, the pain of war, the feeling of betrayal, as only one had previously.

Years ago, they had first come together. Years ago, they had all gone their separate ways. More than three years later, they were finally, properly together again, all four, as they had been so many times before.

The silver-haired leader pushed the tent opening aside, peering in silently. He had completed his rounds of the camp, spoke to the other commanders and the Kage, reassured many of the survivors of the greatest conflict in recent history. Yes, the last battle was over. Yes, the two idiots were alive and friends. Yes, the three heroes were alive and well, for the most part. Yes, they had surpassed their masters and all expectations laid before them. Yes, these three were easily the strongest shinobi in all the Five Nations.

Many didn't know what to make of the last affirmative. These three were young, barely past childhood. All three came from one village, one genin team. Two of the three were still officially classified as genin!

The Raikage and Tsuchikage had been in fits over the three. It took the fierce protectiveness of the Hokage, the calm sureness of the Kazekage, and the cheerful optimism of the Mizukage to finally quiet the two older men. When all had been reassured, Mei had led A and Onoki away, while Tsunade and Gaara hurried off to check on the three they owed so much to.

The surviving Konoha Twelve had been grouped together, silent in their mourning and introspection as they grieved the loss of one of their own, the loss of the way their world had once been, the loss of various family and friends. On the fringes sat the two older Sand Siblings and the two newest members of the former Team Seven, not quite part of the Konoha Twelve, but sharing bonds that would link them forever.

"Is it true, Kakashi-sensei?" Kiba had finally asked, much more muted than normal, the huge head of Akamaru leaning against his thigh.

The masked commander nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Afraid so."

"Are they okay?" Temari had asked, her eyes dry as she soothingly rubbed Ino's back.

"As much as they can be. But they have the best medic in the Nations looking after them."

No one had questioned that. Tsunade-sama was not yet strong enough again to care for such severe injuries. One of their own had inherited their leader's strength, and all had total confidence in her abilities.

"Tell them…" Hinata had stammered, her eyes still somewhat discolored from her grief. She couldn't quite finish her request, and Tenten had laid a hand over hers.

"Tell them we'll all be here in the morning," Shikamaru had finally said, nodding up to their commander.

"Will do," the older man had said with a small salute before walking away. No one had recovered enough chakra to perform even the simplest of jutsu, let alone something like _shunshin._

"I thought I told you to get some rest," a woman's voice said, cutting through his thoughts, and in the shadows he could spot her, kneeling between two prone forms, arms crossed over her chest and green eyes glaring at him in clear disapproval.

"There was work to be done," he replied, silently slipping into the tent and securing the opening. She scoffed, shaking her head.

"There's always work to be done, Sensei. It doesn't have to always be done by you."

"You're keeping busy," he pointed out, earning himself another icy look.

"Don't antagonize Sakura-chan!"

"I'm surprised you know a word like 'antagonize', Dobe."

Kakashi chuckled at the two exhausted voices as Sakura squeaked and smacked the two younger males.

"You two are supposed to be asleep!"

"Your killer intent wasn't exactly putting us at ease," Sasuke responded, rolling very slightly to dodge Naruto's admittedly pathetic swing for his shoulder.

"You too, Teme! No antagonizing!" Naruto crowed.

"You're both going to reopen your wounds and bleed out," Sakura said, warning clear in her voice as she leaned over to check what was left of their battle-amputated arms.

Kakashi definitely heard her mutter something about 'bakas' and 'overpowered children', and certainly heard her comment about using destructive jutsu to 'blow each other's goddamned arms off', but wisely chose not to mention any part of it to his eldest, physically strongest, and only female student.

"Your friends send their regards. Hinata and Shikamaru want you to know they'll all be around in the morning."

All three sobered at that.

"How are they? Hinata-chan and Shikamaru and Ino-chan?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Mourning. You should see them tomorrow if you can," Kakashi responded, stretching as best he could in the cramped tent.

"You should sleep. All of you," Sakura said, pointedly looking at each of 'her boys'. "I'll take watch."

"There's no need for a watch anymore," Kakashi said, before his eyes flicked to the purple diamond on her forehead. "You should rest, too. You can't run on that fancy new seal of yours forever."

Her hand rose immediately to the spot, and then she smiled tiredly, brushing pink bangs out of her eyes.

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei."

She moved to crawl away from her boys, and at the same time, both of their only hands reached out to her.

"You're going to stay, right, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. She blinked in surprise and turned to look down at Sasuke, who nodded, watching her with dark eyes. Naruto had gone to full pouting mode, blue eyes shiny, and Sakura could only chuckle, her own eyes glimmering, and nod as well.

"Hai. I'll stay," she whispered, and Kakashi smiled to himself under his mask as she settled down between the boys, her two first teammates, twisting this way and that before she sat up again.

Before anyone could ask, she shot forward, catching Kakashi off guard as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight. Surprised, he hugged her back lightly for just a second. She smiled when she drew back, kissed his forehead quickly.

"I'm glad you're safe," she murmured, and just as quickly as she had moved to him, she was on Sasuke, hugging him just as tightly. The dark-haired boy's black eyes were wide, a slight blush forming on his cheeks as his lone arm hesitantly rose to go around her in what was probably his first attempt at a hug in ages.

"I'm glad you came back," she whispered, before brushing her lips against his forehead.

Then she was on Naruto, draped over his chest as she hugged him with all her strength. Where Kakashi and Sasuke had been slow to return the embrace, Naruto's single arm was around her instantly, cheerfully accepting all the affection offered as he hugged her back.

When she finally pulled back and pressed her lips to his forehead, her eyes were bright. "I'm glad you're finally free."

 _Free from ridicule. Free from torment. Free from being hunted. Free from Akatsuki, Madara, Kaguya._

Finally, she settled back between her teammates, smiling as she did.

"I love you guys," she murmured, and the three males all smiled at that. She had always been the emotional one of their team, the one who gave away her love so freely. After all that had happened, that she could continue to do so was somewhat a miracle.

In the narrow spot she had claimed as her own, she turned toward Naruto, leaning her face against his shoulder, assuming he'd be more accepting of this than Sasuke. He responded positively, turning slightly toward her as well, allowing her to claim his uninjured shoulder as a pillow. What neither of them had been expecting was Sasuke to turn over somewhat as well, pressing his forehead and the bridge of his nose to the base of her neck, unconcerned by the strands of pink hair covering his own black bangs, his now single arm moving over her waist to offer some warmth to her smaller form. Surprised, Sakura and Naruto smiled at each other and pressed closer together as well, warmth and space and breath shared easily between the three.

"I have no idea if my apartment's been rebuilt," Naruto said after nearly half an hour of silence, keeping his eyes closed.

"I doubt the Uchiha district is still standing," Sasuke muttered against Sakura's spine.

"Then we stay together," Sakura smiled dreamily, half asleep and very comfortable between her boys. The two males seemed content with her answer, as soon all three were dead asleep, soft snores filling the tent.

Kakashi chuckled to himself, watching the trio he was sure many would hail as the second coming of the Legendary Sannin. But in this moment, they were three teenagers, kids, who had spent huge portions of their lives alone, and had found most acceptance from each other.

Most days, Kakashi didn't believe he was worthy of being called 'sensei' by them. But always, every day, he was proud of them.

Pulling a scroll from a pocket of his flack jacket, Kakashi channeled a tiny bit of chakra and unsealed two clean blankets. He threw one over the three sleeping teens, watching as all three snuggled closer together under the new warmth. The second he wrapped around his own shoulders, and he settled leaning against the support post of the tent.

Within moments, the original Team Seven was sound asleep and together, much as they had been long ago on their earliest missions.

"This is my responsibility. You have nothing to do with it."

"You're just saying that to be noble."

"Dobe."

"Teme."

Sakura and Kakashi exchanged a glance, rolling their eyes. Over a year after the final battle of the Fourth War, and the showdown at the Valley of the End, and things were continuing to revert to the way they'd been years before. Sasuke and Naruto still argued like they did as green genin, and it had become Sakura's responsibility to beat sense into them. Nowadays, she bludgeoned them pretty equally.

"We'll probably come back through in a couple months time, unless you need us for something. Don't read those ridiculous books of yours in the office too often," Sakura said with a grin, and Kakashi gave her his signature eye-smile.

"It's strange to see you all off."

"The village needs you more than we do now, Rokudaime-sama," she said with a wink, giving him a quick hug and kissing his cheek before shouldering her pack and striding past her two bickering teammates and out of Konoha.

"Oi, you two!" she called as she approached the tree line, turning to smirk at them as they finally quieted and looked at her. Sasuke blinked and Naruto crowed, grabbing both remaining packs and hurrying after her.

"See ya later, Kakashi-sensei! I'll be back to take over for you soon!"

When both boys finally reached her, they fell into step as they often did, Sakura on the right, Sasuke on the left, and ever-cheerful Naruto in the middle.

"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke finally asked after a mile of Naruto's ceaseless babbling.

"Because we agreed to stay together," Sakura said simply, as Naruto nodded sagely. Sasuke stared at them for a moment, cheeks and neck coloring slightly, and then he turned to look forward again.

"So, where to first?" Naruto asked, and all three looked at each other again. Sakura nudged the blond, who in turn swerved into Sasuke. She grinned as they glared before taking off running, laughing as the two boys scrambled to chase.

Kakashi chuckled at the gate, watching as their forms disappeared over the horizon. It had been a trying year, what with the return to Konoha, Sasuke's trial and probation, and his own inauguration as Rokudaime Hokage. Through it all, the three teammates had stuck together like glue, sharing Sakura's one-bedroom apartment, training and shopping and eating together. It hadn't surprised him in the least when Sakura and Naruto had announced their intention to go with Sasuke on his journey of repentance.

 _Good luck_ , he thought to them, turning to walk back to the Hokage Tower.

 _"I want to sleep by Sakura-chan!"_

 _"But I want to sleep by Sasuke-kun."_

 _"Well, I don't want to sleep by either of you."_

 _Kakashi sighed, failing in his attempt to ignore his squabbling genin, closing his little orange book with an audible snap._

 _"All three of you need to go to sleep. Now."_

 _Grumbling, they retrieved their bedrolls, and he forcibly separated them, placing Sakura and Naruto at the far sides of the tent, Sasuke in the middle. There was at least a foot of space between them all, and he hoped it would be enough to prevent further conflict._

 _He was correct, but in a different way than he had expected. As the night progressed, the three twelve-year-olds slowly gravitated closer and closer together. Whether by accident or not, the jounin sensei didn't know, but after two hours or so, Naruto and Sakura were firmly pressed at the Uchiha's sides. Sasuke didn't seem to have any complaints as he slumbered on._

 _Kakashi shook his head. It was sure to be a headache inducing, but he couldn't wait until morning to see their reactions._


End file.
